Ex-cop, surgeon, babu: Yuri’s challengers in Cuncolim for ’27

Margao: Politicians of various hues are coming together in Cuncolim ahead of the 2027 assembly elections with one common agenda — defeating Congress MLA and leader of opposition Yuri Alemao. They said they will work towards fielding a consensus candidate against him.


The emerging front is anchored by three Cuncolim natives—former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes, who held senior positions including director of municipal administration and urban development secretary before taking voluntary retirement; retired deputy superintendent of police Sammy Tavares, also popular as a playwright and tiatr director; and ENT specialist and activist Dr Jorson Fernandes.


Both Gomes and Fernandes have contested from Cuncolim before. Gomes made his political debut as AAP’s chief ministerial candidate in 2017, trailing in fourth place in Cuncolim. He later joined Congress, but when the 2022 ticket came up, the party gave the Cuncolim nomination to Yuri Alemao while Gomes contested from Panaji, where he finished a distant third. He is now apparently hoping for a Congress ticket from Cuncolim in 2027, the seat Yuri holds.


Fernandes has been at it even longer. He contested Cuncolim on a UGDP ticket in 2007, finishing second with 3,408 votes against Joaquim Alemao’s 8,909. He then joined TMC ahead of 2022, polled 1,282 votes, and finished fifth — while Yuri won comfortably.


The three have now rallied around the ‘Enough Is Enough’ movement led by retired high court judge Justice Ferdino Rebello, also a native of Cuncolim, demanding the scrapping of Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning Act across Goa. The trio have even addressed a joint press conference recently to highlight various issues plaguing Cuncolim.